Innovative Legal Leadership

Ann Kappler’s first passion was theatre. But while pursuing acting, a day job as a paralegal sparked a new interest: law. At Jenner & Block, she worked with insurance agent trade association clients, which led to two Supreme Court arguments. After accepting a position as Deputy General Counsel at Fannie Mae, she discovered a love for the strategy and people management aspects of in-house work. Currently, she is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Prudential Financial. We discussed: - The advantages to working in-house versus a law firm - Speaking for the company on external affairs and public policy - Advocating for DEI and issues concerning financial stability - Managing a hybrid workforce - The importance of persuasion skills Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Sabine Chalmers started in private practice at Hogan & Lovells. While there, she had a great view into how different types of businesses were run. But she quickly realized she wanted to be part of a business. She started her in-house career with Guinness and later became GC North America of Diageo followed by CLO of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Currently, she is the Group GC at BT. We discuss: - The influence of having a global perspective growing up - Offering valuable perspective as the sole woman on an executive team - Building up a knowledge base after transferring to a new industry - Strategies for driving DEI initiatives - Getting awarded Transformative In-House Team of the Year at BT Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

During his early years as an associate, Rishi Varma took up an interest in what it meant to grow a company and what he could bring to the table. In his career, he followed that passion with roles as acting GC for Technology Holdings (India), followed by 5 years as the President and COO of Trico Marine Services, a company with $500 million in revenue. Currently, he is the GC and Corporate Secretary at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. We discuss: - How leading a business taught him to be a better GC - Demonstrating value in the talent you develop - Strategies for developing cost-saving measures - Using virtual reality to simulate face-to-face meetings - Managing issues of inclusion and diversity with outside counsel Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Minority- and women-led law firms fighting for equal opportunities is a continuing struggle. Raising awareness and presenting clear strategies to eliminate the discrimination are essential to creating change. Leslie Davis, CEO of the National Association of Minority & Women-Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), joins us to discuss her journey into law and how she’s moving the needle for these firms. What we talked about: - How Leslie became a lawyer - Leslie’s call to action to general counsel - Initial steps to start hiring NAMWOLF firms - Positive influence from mentors and advice To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to the Innovative Legal Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

After a middle school field trip to Yosemite National Park, Akshay Verma was inspired to pursue environmental law. After a stint as a paralegal for Latham & Watkins, he went on to practice environmental law at Farella Braun & Martel. He then transitioned to legal consulting and business development at Axiom. Today, he’s Director, Head of Legal Ops at Facebook where he helps their legal department “run lean, mean… while spending less green.” What we talked about: - Learning what it takes to run a legal department while at Axiom - Balancing spend on outside counsel with pressures to keep costs low - Pressuring outside counsel to diversify partnership ranks - Getting wins early on in your legal ops career Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

As a competitive chess player in his college days, Alan Tse gained an appreciation for having to make timely tactical decisions. Like competitors in the game of kings, lawyers must often make important judgment calls without all the facts at their disposal, even if that means tough lessons may follow. Now the Global Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Jones Lang Lasalle, Alan leaned on his extensive experience to help his global team navigate a pandemic. And they did so while maintaining an award-winning ethical culture by committing to sustainable values. Join us as we discuss: - Lessons learned from early business startups (6:06) - Recruiting general counsels from outside your industry (13:46) - Operational focuses and gatekeeping reputation (25:41) - Why remaining calm in crisis management is a skill (30:31) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Alan Tse - Jones Lang Lasalle Hear more stories by following Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Darren Zeidel began his career at Skadden before the siren call of working in a business environment brought him to Honeywell as the VP and GC of Business and General Aviation. After close to 10 years at Honeywell, he jumped over to Aon where he is now the EVP, GC, and Company Secretary. Topics covered: - Learning how to leverage intangible assets - Compensating for vulnerabilities caused by the pandemic - Finding value in building out your network - Looking for attitude, agility, and curiosity while building a team - Acting as a pathway to the solution rather than thinking you should have all the answers Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Mark Chandler learned early on that he didn’t love practicing law in a law firm. Instead, he discovered a love for being inside a company, serving consumers and building products. His first GC role was for the disk drive company Maxtor in 1988, followed by a position as the top lawyer at StrataCom. From there, he spent the next 25 years working at Cisco, 20 of those as GC. Topics covered: - Bringing a business-minded approach to the legal team - 2 principles critical to an effective culture - The impact of technology on legal departments over the years - How being a part of the growth story of a company is key to the GC role today Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Unlike at a traditional law firm where there’s a structure to your career progression, Harvey Anderson discovered a democratization of opportunities within web companies. He has worked as an Associate GC at Netscape, a COO at Medscape and Flywheel Communications, an SVP of Corporate Affairs and GC at Seven Networks, an SVP of Business and Legal Affairs at Mozilla, and a CLO at AVG Technologies. Currently he is GC at HP. What we talked about: - How persistence breaks down career barriers - The democratization of opportunity in the web space - Building a culture predicated on diversity without neglecting inclusion - The need for digital platforms - Having views on organizational aspects that go beyond legal Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Bruce Byrd started his career in private practice working his way up to partner at Dickinson Wright before making the transition to corporate law. He worked at AT&T for 20 years spending the last few as Chief Legal Officer. Currently, he is Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Palo Alto Networks. What we talked about: - Seeking out honest feedback in pursuit of growth - Highlights and challenges from 20 years at AT&T - Ensuring the legal department at Palo Alto Networks has the scale and resources to meet the ambitions of the company - Being uniquely qualified to invest time in local communities Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.